Dead Malls Season 4 Episode 2 - Sandburg Mall 

What was that old store with the lighthouse paintings on the walls? I’d love to know! Super creepy but super cool!

I’m crying that was where I as a little kid saw Santa, went to hickory Farms got crackers, Hallmark store and orange Julius. Alaskans castle… I’m 53 now and sad!!!

This breaks my heart. I grew up in that mall and even worked 2 of my first jobs there. The tire shop that's still in operation and as security for the mall itself. My grandfather was head maintenance at the mall for 20+ years and at the end before they let him go, he was spending his own money on materials to make repairs. It's sad to admit but yeah, there's no chance of bringing this back. The roof alone would be around 2 million dollars to replace. But thanks for giving a lot of us what is probably our last glimpse at an old childhood friend. 💔

there's something really sad about seeing the model train set from the center court in that kinda condition. iirc, one of the plaques around it had info about how the process of them building a historical model of the town and getting an entire team to carry it into position when they moved it into the mall. all of the history behind it and it just ends there, destroyed in a building that's falling apart around it.

Hi! Very sad video. I was general manager of Sandburg Mall in 1995-1996. I remember fondly much of what you have shown in ruins. We were able at that time to "re-invent" the mall by collaboration with Seminary Street, Downtown Council, Henderson Street and the Chamber. But, the mall had already outlived its prime. I'm certain that the economic impact of Maytag's departure was the final nail in the coffin, however, it was a struggling property long before. It is sad to see it now, knowing once what it was. I trust in the leadership of Galesburg to eventually make lemonade out of this lemon. They are a vibrant, industrious group of folks that, as I have witnessed, often accomplish great things.

So I wanted to give a small bit of context on the mall in 2024. As it stands right now, the Bergners anchor is going to be revived as the new VA medical center. As for the Aladdin's Castle, it was turned into a small dance studio in the malls final days. I wish this mall could see new life. Maybe with the VA moving in, something can finally happen. Thanks for spotlighting our tiny little town with this

Thank you for this. I’m a Galesburg native, and this mall, in its day, was amazing. Sad as hell to see this, but it was inevitable, I suppose, and I like having the document.

I remember the McDonalds. It was different than any Mall fast food place. They actually built a front made of granite and had windows . IT was unique

I miss that mall so much. I drive past it every day and it makes me feel like crying.

Mate you gotta be careful in places like this, i work for a security company which regularly looks after abandoned factories/malls ect, and we never go alone to places like this, we find all sorts of people inside these places.....be careful and stay safe man.

The thing that was interesting with Galesburg was that with the mall's downfall, many businesses moved back downtown. There is a new Seminary Square shopping area with chain stores, but many mom and pop stores have moved back into cheaper buildings downtown. Now, some blocks of streets that decades ago were empty are packed with small businesses. The mall's closure may have been a blessing in disguise.

I grew up going to that mall. Worked in every wing. So many beautiful memories.

It’s amazing how much it’s changed Sandburg mall was a huge part of my child hood and I remember all of this so immensely especially the time I spent staring at the train display

I remember my parents taking me to the mall many times when I was young, the first thing I always did was ride on a coin operated ride and look at the model railroad diorama to see the little trains move. I loved eating the soft pretzals and drinking an Orange Julius drink at the food court. My favorite memory there was an animal program that had people hold baby animals and take pictures of them, I got to hold a tiger cub while my sister held a kangaroo joey.

Grew up here. This mall was magical in it's heyday. Memories for a lifetime. Sneaking cigarettes in the parking lot with girls, hours spent in the arcade on a Saturday, endless summer nights spent listening to music in cars in the parking lot. Thanks for this.

I was born in 83 and this mall was bustling well into the mid 90s. it had a very cool mcdonalds and the movie theater was cool for it's time. I remember the courtyard had tons of baseball card 'shows' I would go to with my grandpa. the train exhibits where pretty cool. the whole town really really suffered when maytag left. but dont feel too bad for this mall, it really had had its heyday and was a fun place to be for a number of years, even for a pretty small town like galesburg.

It’s so sad how many things has changed and how many places has shut down! I went here as a kid all the time with my family and I loved the train thing in the middle of the mall! So to see it all like this. Thank you for filming!

Born and raised in this town and spent a ton of time in this mall. Graduated from GHS in 1996. Remember going to Aladdins castle and that iconic McDonald's alot throughout the 80s and 90s. Eventually left Galesburg for college and come back every so often to see family still there. This is honestly really crazy to see, it was the highlight location of the town and was actually an extremely nice mall during that time period. It was the place to be in a town that didn't have a lot to do to really. Seeing the model trains tracks destroyed really saddens me, those were quite the attraction and made the mall somewhat unique compared to others due to Galesburg being a heavy railroad town.

Man o man.....teared up watching this...grew up going here on weekends...seeing the floors in the halls alone brings back so many memories of me and brother and cousin walking on that brown tile trail around the mall...usually I’d be outside of jcpennys just walking and following the brown tile as much as I could ... waiting for my mom and grandma to get done shopping....🙄🙄😭😂😭...my favorite was the popcorn place....where they had the caramel corn and cheddar corn....or just plain....we would always get a big box of the three mixed together....it was was always a special treat...so very very sad to see what it has turned into

This is unreal and sad to see. My first job at 16 was at Sandburg’s JCPenny. I remember as a kid how busy and thriving this place used to be. Seeing the train like that 🥺

Ugh.... This makes me so sad. I was at this mall probably every weekend throughout the 80's. Obviously I knew it was closed but seeing this and recognizing areas of it is very sad to me

The stuff you do to give us amazing entertainment. Man you are brave, I would not even step foot in the mall for a million dollars.

The storefront with the brick façade used to be McDonald's and some of my earliest memories are going there as a kid. Can't believe how fast the interior of this place is decaying.

I worked at a couple different stores in this mall. So much of my teen life was in these halls, at the movies, working at Karmelkorn/Orange Julius, shopping, and just walking around with friends. Wedding ring was bought at this mall. Hard to see it this way.

It's amazing how much damage has been done in there. Sandburg Mall was already falling apart for four or five years before it closed. For the last couple years, they didn't even bother turning on most of the lights and there were plastic tubs at different locations in the hallways to catch leaks from the roof. Somehow, Bath and Body Works and GNC managed to stick it out almost all the way to the end. I spent SO MANY HOURS in the Aladdin's Castle as a teenager. From the moment that mall opened until it closed, they never changed the decor inside at all. The only noticeable changes were the addition of the Kmart part and those hideous green signs and the cheaply made signs over the "courts" for Bergner's, JCPenney, etc they added sometime around 2010. Oh, and they added that model railroad sometime when I was in middle school. Sad that, at this point, the best thing that could happen to that place is a controlled demolition. Walmart opened in the 1980s... right when the mall peaked. In fact, when that neighborhood started dying in the early 2000s, WalMart relocated to Seminary St leaving their building on Henderson vacant until a few years ago when it became a strip mall.

I'm a Monmouth native. I left the area in 1984. When we said we were going to the Mall, this was the one. It breaks my heart to see how it died. So many great memories we had there in the 70's and early 80's, but like most members of my graduating class at the also gone Warren High School, I relocated to an area with better work possibilities and started my career and family in Indiana. I came back regularly to see family, so I made a few more visits to the Mall. A couple of memories were seeing the first 2 Batman movies in the theater because they were nicer than my local ones at the time. Thanks for sharing this with us, it's a real eye opener of the state of my home region.

You don’t usually see blood in a dead mall video. This was fit for a Halloween special! 🎃

I'm 78, and my fondest childhood memories of Galesburg were of the charming downtown area. Used to visit my Galesburg cousins and walk downtown. I guess the mall killed that. My mother loved the mall, though. I'm sure she bought hundreds of pairs of shoes there (!) and she loved Bergner's.

I went out before it closed and took photos for the Galesburg Public Library photo collection. I did it rather clandestinely as it was against the rules of the mall. But someone there told me just go ahead and take them and if asked about it just say I had permission. A lot of the stores were already closed and I knew it was a matter of time before the whole place closed.

Holy crap. As a (former) resident of that town, I remember it being built, seeing its heyday and its eventual demise. It was sad to see. It is utterly amazing to see the condition it is in now. And let's not even get into the whole blood/cell phone thing! Cool video. Kudos for making it and letting us see inside a once excellent mall.

Thank you so much. 🥺 great memories were made at that mall. Friends and I used to sneak away from our small town, to Galesburg. I remember piling our car full, the laughter, and the rebellion of “leaving town, without parents!” Lol

"Hundreds of thousands left" is a gross overstatement. The population of Galesburg never ever reached above 40,000 in its existence.

Sad to see sandburg mall like that. I have so many memories from being in there.Thanks for posting the video.

We.moved to town the year it opened. I worked at the Customer Service desk in center Court from 1986 - 1992.

When I look back at the mall I think of going there on the weekends with my grandma when I was a kid around the early 90s and eating at McDonalds or a restaurant they had by K-Mart called diamond daves and going to Spencer's and I remember usually the end of our day at the mall would end at Oscos....😔 Miss that mall and miss them days...a huge part of my childhood is now just a broken shell..they can break down the mall but the can never take away the fun memories

I was so hoping you would go into the old Mcdonald's location. I haven't seen it in many years since they left. Great video. I miss walking Sandburg. Sad how it all ended up.

Man, I love urbex videos a lot but this was the hardest one to watch 😅 So many childhood memories from there, it's heartbreaking! Thank you though for this video, very well done!

Great job with the background music, history and flashbacks with the stores!

Wow! I worked at this mall for 6 years at Sears from 2000 to 2006. Sad to see this.

FYI: Wal Mart was around well before Target in Galesburg. Sad to see this. Lot of memories there. They had a pet store across from McDonald's.. Aladdin's Castle..Spencer's...Does anyone else remember 'The Talking Christmas Tree' in Berger's back in the 80's? Also, away back when I was little, in the 70's..believe it or not, they would occasionally have bear wrestling. Yes bear wrestling! Right in center court. A guy with a muzzled bear that adults could wrestle. Does ANYONE remember that???

Wild! It has really degraded so quickly! Worked at Bergner’s in the late 90’s and hated that the McDonald’s had left.

Wow!! I grew up going to this mall and I remember how one by one the stores started closing (so terribly sad). How creepy with the blood and the phone ringing…I would have been running out then.

Great video. You definitely weren’t alone in there.

God I remember this mall growing up this is so sad to think at one point it was a beautiful mall and had so much going for it

My home town mall. I remember the day it opened so exciting.

Many happy memories as a youth at that mall.

I was hired at J C Pennys as their fine jewelry sales specialist. I worked under Pauline Galloway( jewelry manager) and with Chris Hayes. I miss Chris, he taught me so much. II had learned a lot when I worked at Frank Jewelers downtown before I went back to work. My best friend got a job at Kids Castle in the Bergners court. Bergners had originally called me to work for them in their crystal and China dept. I did not go for the there. I did eat lunch at Bergners when I worked at Pennys. It may have been called the Gally, I can’t really remember. I always had a small sandwich with a side of potato salad. I shopped a lot at Bergners. I miss that mall!

I worked at Bergner's when it opened. It was a lovely department store. My daughter, Constance, worked there when she was a college student.

I live in Williamsfield, IL thank you so much for making this video! I remember going to this mall a lot as kid every time my family and I need to go there for stuff. It's really sad that the mall has died. The reason why it's not torn down yet is because there is a a couple of stores attached to it. So I don't know. Thank you so much again!

I love how the bomb questionnaire seems to expect the person who planted the bomb to then give their name and address.

I'm from Galesburg too. I worked at the McDonald's for 2 years. It's sad to see it like this. It needs to be torn down.

Blood dries fast. That was fresh like within 30 seconds of you finding it.

heartbreaking.. i just got a chance to go into the old jcpenny"s that's now a a bargain warehouse , which honestly still gives weird uncanny 80's or 90's mall vibes and i went to were the enternce to to mall was but they now put up a cinder block wall and removed the tarp wall so i couldn't see inside the mall , i miss it so badly :(

WOW, what a abandoned shopping mall. It is creepy mall. Great video inside 👍

When i saw this video i thought of all the fun i have had there it brought me to tears

STOP!!! This video was GREAT!!! Liking it rn!! :D

9:45...That was McDonald's....wow

Ugh. So sad. I loved that mall growing up.

Great video. Very interesting. The roof leaks and vandalism have destroyed it. Thanks for filming.

wow..now videos of the past.not just photos.

This was incredibly depressing

Thank you for the video of the Sandburg Mall. Me and all my friends spent all our teenage years in that mall. Going there on the weekends to play video games at Aladdins Castle then going to see a movie then going to Musicland to buy and look at the new releases and finishing our trip with a meal from McDonald's. Seeing it now I feel as though mine and everyone else who has memories of going to this mall a little piece of our childhood and lives has died. R.I.P. Sandburg Mall may our voices forever ring out along your corianders.

I like the dead malls, but I absolutely love see abandoned malls and seeing what is left behind as well as what’s added from the wanderers. Wish you could post more of these…at least when they aren’t sketchy.

I grew up in that mall. Our mall died way before the great mall crash because it was outdated. 30 mins in two directions you had bigger modern malls with more stores, food courts, updated theatres, etc. So it wasn't getting out of town visitors anymore and locals would just take that 30 min trip for a better mall experience. What really hurt it was closing McDonalds. The McDonald's was the gathering spot and the only place to eat outside of the one sit down restaurant which didn't appeal to kids and teens. I was a mall junkie teen when they closed it and remember it just not ever being the same after.

Great vid! It’s crazy how after all these years of watching dead mall vids, there’s still more I never knew about!

Really awesome explore, loved every minute of this video. I don't know what it is, but Sears stores are usually where people get into abandoned malls.

I do n't think that many people would blame you for being worried about the blood.

Man that zelda fairy fountain vaporwave is so good

Between the bloodstains, the phone going off and the propped open doors, my guess is that a skell is living in the mall, maybe several of them.

I was there at the end, just a few stores, mostly empty. I always wondered why they never judt bulldozed it and sold the lot. Granted, the tire place, bargain furniture, and uhaul place is still open, but damn. It's just sad.

Thanks for doing this mall. My mom grew up going to it and this video meant a lot to her even though it is sad, it’s nice that someone give it recognition. I’m glad you got out of there safe though! Creepy. I would not be able to do what you do by myself.

Great video, thank you 👍👍

Love the old school geometric entry points!!

some of the before pictures were so nice too bad the mall got so run down

My grandma used to take me to that mall when i was younger sometimes. Its sad to see this place close down. I've actually gone into there when my grandma took me to Galesburg during this summer of 2023. Although i went into there myself lole. But yea. Sad to see this happen.

Pure awesomeness!

Fantastic upload! I really enjoy your videos.

Can’t wait to watch !

My mom was the manager at the movie theater & my dad worked at the Waldenbooks back in the 90s (that's not how they met).

We loved going to this mall in the 80s and 90s!! So many memories with parents, grandparents, friends and date nights! We loved going to McDonald’s. I bought a super cheap prom dress at Maurice’s in 1990!!

When i was really young, my mom used to come to this mall to get her hair done, I got my hair done at the old hair salon ( Now a warehouse. ) I rememeber every little but, it was apart of my super young childhood. Anytime I past this Dead mall. I remember some parts.

Now I'm going to have to look at your South Park video. Born in Moline, spent most of my childhood between the QC and Galesburg. Two malls with lots of memories.

Got to say it is cool as hell in there it just has one hell of an atmosphere

Hi I find it so weird that they leave the music going makes it seem creepier. Imagine so many memories that were made there. It makes you feel kinda sad 😞

Thank you for this video. I appreciate you. I live in galesburg and i have a huge love for its history mainly down town. But i had alot of memorys in that mall and its parking lot (drifting in the parking lot) lmao

Born and raised in Galesburg, so sad to see so many childhood memories crumbling and decaying like this.

Sadly this is yet another example of the what the future of malls across the country will be. Malls in general are not full of life like they used to be. Even during Christmas time. It makes me sad.

So sad I use to go here all the time with my friends and hang out years ago. I use to also be employed at Bath and Body Works

I used to go here often while I lived in nearby Oneida, IL.

I like your before and after shots of areas in the mall. Nice video!

Man, how depressing and horrible. The amount of vandalism pisses me off. Hopefully the blood was from another vandal. The saddest part is the abandoned model railroad display.

I remember going here all the time when I was 4-8 years old to play and shop. When it closed I was so sad because I loved it. I’m not even that much older now since I’m in my teens but seeing it like that is sad

Once NAFTA was sign by our government that killed Galesburg and many other towns across the Midwest and Galesburg never had more then 37k people at one time lol

I know I said this was an awesome video because it is but it’s sad to see what is happening to these beautiful buildings that so many people made memories in. It’s just getting worse..

I remember when this first opened shame this is what became of it. Hopefully it gets torn down soon and something better is put in its place.

I would do anything for a taco salad from Diamond Dave's

quality content!

That one "store" you went into that you with the paintings on the wall etc was a mini golf place + arcade for awhile

Growing up and living halfway between Galesburg and Moline, I don't ever remember going to this mall. SouthPark and even NorthPark malls were much more preferred to me and my friends. It's a shame that this was left to rot. And SouthPark mall seems to be heading the same way.

Bloomington Eastland mall is next lol 😆👍🏽